Second Chance
by LadyBethDixon
Summary: Beth makes a mistake when she judges Daryl too quickly. Will Daryl give her a second chance? Bethyl AU O/S


A/N: Quick, random story that was bouncing around in my head for a while. I'm not super happy with it, not sure I like this version of Beth, but thought I'd share anyway! For now, this is a one-shot, not really intending to write any more but who knows, inspiration may strike again! Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!

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Daryl eyed the blonde across the yard, feeling like a stalker as he took another sip from his beer. She was standing with her friends, laughing with that brilliant smile that lit up the whole place and made everything feel warm and nice. She wasn't the center of attention, that mostly fell to her melodramatic friend Amy, but the others paid attention when she spoke and it seemed that the only time that side of the yard was quiet was when she was speaking.

"Why don't you just ask her out?" Rick said, nudging his shoulder to get his attention.

Daryl glanced at him before shrugging with one shoulder, "Already did."

Rick started grinning like a fool, "You did? Really?"

Daryl nodded once, feeling his ears burn, and replied, "Yeah. She said no."

Rick's smile froze for a moment before slowly fading as he struggled to comprehend. "That ain't like Beth," Rick replied almost to himself, words barely audible as he considered her across the lawn. After a moment he replied, "Hey, I'm sorry man." He continued to watch the gaggle of women, thinking for a moment, and then looked back at his friend, "She say why?"

Daryl shrugged again, "Nah, was nice 'nough about it. Just said no."

Rick stared at his profile for a long time before he commented, "Well, her loss."

Daryl snorted into his beer, "I ain't gonna date ya, man."

Rick laughed at that, running a hand down his growing beard, before looking back at his friend, "Believe me, I ain't askin'."

They stood in silence for awhile, Rick watching his little girl play in a sandbox and Daryl trying not to watch the blonde, her hair braided and twisted around her head like a crown with only a few loose tendrils floating around her face, her eyes so blue he could see them across the yard when the sun hit her face just right. She was damn near the prettiest thing he'd ever seen, of course she'd said no to him. He told himself to look away but his eyes just didn't seem to want to move, seemingly fixated on watching her smile.

"That guy is staring at you again, Beth," Amy said, nudging her with her elbow. She eyed the man, talk with dark hair and lean muscle, and tilted her head quizzically, "Tell me. Why did you say no again?"

Beth glanced over, blushing a little when her eyes met his for a brief moment before he turned away, walking past Rick towards the grill. Her eyes tracked him for a moment before she looked back at her friend. After a moment she remembered the question and shrugged, "I don't know really. He's not my usual type and I'm still kind of recovering from Zach, you know?"

Amy nodded dismissively, "Yes, but Zach and you both agreed to break-up, it's not like he broke your heart or anything. Plus, you two broke up months ago. It's time to move on already!"

"I know," Beth argued lightly, "But still, we dated for two years. You don't just move past it without taking time to yourself."

Amy eyed Daryl across the yard where he was standing with T, and muttered, "If he asked me out I'd dump my boyfriend in a heart beat. Look at those arms!"

"Amy!" Beth protested, trying hard not to look herself, "Not everything is about looks, you know."

"Please," Rosita cut in, popping out a hip to place her hand on it for dramatic effect, "You telling me you've never thought about running your hands all over… "

"No!" Beth interrupted, laughing as she felt her face flush.

Rosita smirked and pointed at Beth, "I was going to say shirt but just proves where your mind really is."

Beth glared at her, laughing as Amy began to fan herself a little, and slapped at her friend's hands, "Come on, y'all need to stop. He's going to know we're talking about him!"

"So?" Rosita argued, cocking an eyebrow.

"So I already told him no," Beth returned, her voice strained. "I'm sure I embarrassed him and we don't need to make it worse by acting like a bunch of pre-teen girls giggling about him."

"How do you say no to that?" Amy asked incredulously, looking around Rosita's shoulder to eye Daryl with an admiring eye.

Beth glared at her friend and quipped, "I don't know, how about I find another friend to discuss it with?"

Amy clutched her chest in fake shock and replied, "Hey! I'm only trying to help! If it weren't for me you'd never date anyone!"

Beth wanted to argue but part of her believed that was true. She'd only dated Zach because Amy had set them up but she'd never really been happy with him. Every relationship she'd been in had been like that, like something was missing. She glanced back over at Daryl and nearly sighed as she watched him stoop down to smile at Judith in the sandbox, scooping up a handful of sand to add to the little girl's sandcastle. Judith beamed and clapped excitedly, reaching out for him, and Beth watched as Daryl picked her up easily, making her giggle as he put her up on his shoulders to bounce across the yard over to Rick.

When he'd asked her out she'd been unsure what to think of him with his leather vest and unkempt hair. His whole demeanor seemed so distant and rough, she didn't know what kind of person he really was. After a while she'd begun to notice things, small things, that had changed her opinion of him. He never sat when there were only a few chairs and he always brought something with him when he attended a party, like ice or watermelons. He was never really alone and Beth began to realize the man had many friends, more than she'd first realized. He spoke easily with Rick and T, even started to get to know Glenn when Maggie could spare him. The others respected him and treated him as an equal, not as someone to fear or keep an eye on but as a friend. As she watched him hand off Judith to her father's waiting arms, Beth regretfully acknowledged again just how wrong she'd been about him.

Beth forced herself to look away and found Rosita and Amy both staring at her with patient disapproval. "What?" Beth asked, knowing the answer but deciding playing dumb was easier.

Rosita sighed loudly and Amy rolled her eyes, "She's hopeless."

"I know," Beth agreed at last, "But what can I do? It's not like he's going to ask again."

"Let me take care of that," Rosita declared, walking away before Beth could stop her.

"I don't want to know," Beth breathed to Amy in a slightly panicked voice. "I'm going to go get a drink from inside, you need anything?"

Amy grinned at her and shook her head, "No, think I might wait out here to see what Rosita does. This could be the best thing I've seen in a long time!"

Beth groaned inwardly and escaped inside, letting the screen door snap loudly behind her.

Daryl could feel her watching him across the yard, could hear the laughs of her friends, and he cringed internally while trying to maintain an oblivious appearance. Even if they were talking about him, what did it matter? She'd said no, he'd made a fool of himself once and he was never going to do it again. Time to move on.

He refocused on Rick, watching as Judith grabbed a handful of beard and tugged with a giggle, making Rick wince dramatically. The baby had done the same thing to the scruff on his chin earlier and he wondered absently how something so small could get such a fierce grip like that.

A sharp tap on his shoulder and a strong voice commanding, "You Daryl?" Made him turn, finding a small girl with dark hair pulled into two pigtails standing before him, a hand propped on one hip and a determined expression on her face.

Daryl glanced at Rick, raising his eyebrows, and Rick shrugged, indicating with a jerk of his head that he better pay attention to the intense creature standing before him. He cleared his throat and muttered, "Yeah, that's me. Who're you?"

"Rosita," the girl replied in a clipped, precise voice, holding out her hand. Daryl absently wiped his own on his pants before accepting it, withholding a wince as she squeezed it tightly and gave it two good shakes before releasing him.

Daryl buried his hands into his pockets, hoping to discourage further contact and grunted, "What can I do for you?"

"Do you like Beth?" Rosita replied without pausing, no hint of embarrassment.

Daryl felt heat bloom in his face, rising to the tops of his ears, and he shifted his weight defensively, "Asked her out, didn't I? Sure she's told ya. Don't matter if I do, she said no."

Rosita's intimidating expression softened and she smirked, "Yeah, and now she realizes what a shit move that was." She raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for him to catch on before adding suggestively, "I think if you were to ask her again you might get a different answer." She stared pointedly at him for a long moment before jerking her head swiftly to the side, towards the house, then grinned abruptly, turning and walking away with a sashay that made him distinctly uncomfortable.

Daryl stared at the place where she'd stood, baffled and numb, until Rick nudged him in the side, "Hey, that's good news, huh?"

Daryl blinked, looking at his friend slowly as comprehension crept into his mind. After a moment, he glanced at the house and shrugged with a nonchalance he didn't feel, "Don't matter. She got her chance, turned me down."

Rick snorted and Daryl glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. Rick gave his friend a patient, indulgent look and replied, "Don't be a dumb ass. Girls like that, they ain't that common. Ain't met no one in my life with a more goodness in 'em." He moved closer and lowered his voice, tilting his head slightly to avoid the reaching grab of Judith's tiny hands, and added, "You got a second chance here, man. Take it. She's worth the risk."

Daryl felt sick at the thought, full of nerves he hadn't felt since the first time he'd approached that girl, and asked, "You think?"

Rick just stared at him, and Daryl nodded once, looking down at his feet as he tried to get his body under control. Ants raced up and down his neck, his blood pumping fast through his veins. He swallowed hard and looked up through his hair at the screen door leading into the house, trying to get his legs to work and his palms to stop sweating.

"Shit," He muttered to himself, vaguely aware of Rick's snort of amusement at his pain and distress.

He took a step towards the house, relieved that he wasn't rooted to the spot where Rosita had left him, then paused, squinting. Barely, just barely, he could see the shape of someone standing just inside the door, someone trying to stay hidden but failing miserably. Something inside him relaxed a little. At least he wasn't the only one who was scared out of their mind.

Finding a renewed courage, he walked towards the house, wiping his hands nervously on his pants and trying to form a coherent thought for what he could say to her, what he should say. The shape just inside the door retreated in a vaguely panicked flurry of movement as he approached the steps, disappearing deeper into the house.

He let the screen door snap behind him, eyes adjusting to the dim interior after the bright daylight of the yard. He took a few measured steps, surveying his surroundings and getting his bearings for a moment before calling clearly, "Beth? You in here?"

As Beth heard her name she wanted to sink into the floor. Rosita had walked straight over to him, said a few words, and here he was, coming to find her. She swallowed hard, wondering if he could hear her hammering heart from where she stood just around the corner from where he was. How embarrassing to have to have her friend do all the talking because she was too chicken to face him after she'd said no the first time. Had Rosita convinced him to try again? Was he here to ask her out one more time? Or maybe it had all gone horribly wrong and he was here to inform her that he'd moved on and didn't appreciate her friends badgering him about her mistake.

"Hey, uh, Rosita kinda told me you were in here. Just… make it easier on me and come out," Daryl called, voice low and even with no anger or disgust in it.

Beth took a deep, steadying breath and told herself she was being childish and rude. She nodded once to herself and stood up straight, keeping her head up as she forced herself to move around the corner and plastered a smile on her face. "Daryl, hi!" She greeted him with a brightness she didn't feel.

He frowned a little, obviously seeing through the act immediately, and shifted his weight, flicking a wrist towards the screen door and the yard beyond, "Rosita kinda just told me some things. Wanted to come see ya, see if they're true."

Beth fought to keep her smile steady as she forced herself to get it over with, asking politely, "Okay. What things?"

Daryl watched her for a long moment, eyes partially concealed by his hair, before finally asking honestly, "She said you regret turnin' me down, that if I asked ya out again you'd say yes. That true?"

Beth flinched a little at his honesty, wanting to hide from it, but instead she straightened even more, lifting her chin in an effort to appear more confident than she felt and replied, "Yes… but I swear I didn't ask her to go talk to you for me or anything. I'm not expecting anything from you." She folded her arms nervously and waited with bated breath, hoping he would see on her face how desperately she wanted him to try again, just one more time.

Daryl's eyes swept over her and she felt like he really could see right through her. After a moment his lips twitched into a small smile, barely there at the corner of his lips, and he asked patiently, "You wanna go out sometime?"

Beth felt a grin burst across her face as she relaxed in relief, answering without hesitation, "Yes, I'd like that. I'd like it a lot."


End file.
